One of my favorite inquiries is from artists seeking photographic studies or references. Cathy Sheeter contacted me months ago, asking about my young raccoon images — to use as the basis for a drawing. I love granting rights for that application — appreciating as I do the metamorphosis from one medium into another.
Photos like these are always more than just pixels, more than the subjects they depict. Photographers understand the sentiments imprinted on each photo. Images represent not just what we saw but also what we felt, what was happening in our lives … how we ended up at that spot, along with the emotions associated with these unexpected discoveries.
These photos were part of a simple shoot in my friend’s backyard — one I posted about recently, an unexpected daytime visit by a mother raccoon and her growing kits.
When I look at the pictures …
I feel the connection I had with these animals.
I hear the chatter of mother to child, child back to mother.
I remember, viscerally, the sounds and smells of wet underbrush and fir trees, having just relocated to the Northwest.
And I recall the challenge, too, of trying to find an angle on this experience that wasn’t utterly shaded and backlit … all of the components that go into capturing a frame of existence.
When I unwrapped the print Cathy sent me, I got to relive that experience through a totally different set of eyes. The outcomes always transcend any preconceived ideas I might have had — reminding me of the power that lies in layered and shared perceptions that make up our individual and collective creative processes.